VIVIAN KEPT HER GUN IN HER HAND AS THEY WALKED THE QUIET STRETCH OF ROAD.

The sun was out with no cloud in sight, which was ironic considering how dark and stormy it was the night before. It was hot, and Vivian was grateful for the barn that Daryl found to keep the kids out of the heat.

"Eyes open, everybody. Weapons up." Abraham ordered as they continued walking,

"You see someone coming at us, you fire." Glenn stated,

Marcie and Michonne shared a look. What if they encounter Aaron's partner? And they're harmless?

"Copy that."

"So if we see someone, we just shoot them?" Michonne questioned,

"It's a good question." Maggie responded,

"What if they're someone like us?" Vivian asked, "What if Aaron is telling the truth? What if they're someone who has nothing to do with this?"

"We're seven people walking with gun. No one's coming up to say hello." Glenn stated,

"But that's exactly what happened." Michonne defended,

"If it's someone like us, we should be afraid of them." The Korean man told her, "He said he was watching us, right? It means he saw us yesterday. And after everything we've done, why would he want us to join his group?"

"People like us saved a priest. Saved a girl who rolled up up to the prison with the Governor. Saved a crazy lady with a sword. He saw that." Michonne replied,

"I don't know what he saw."

"Look, we need this." Vivian stated, "Liam, Judith, and Carl need this. I saw the photos. It could be good for us."

They had been out there for too long, and if they don't find somewhere for them to let their guard down soon, Vivian was afraid of what they could turn into.

After another few miles of walking, they came across the downed trees with the RV and sedan on the other side.

"He was telling the truth."

Vivian stared at the RV for a long moment. It reminded her of Dale. And if he was here, he would want them to take this chance. This chance to protect their humanity, to keep from loosing themselves in this world.

They heard rustling coming from the woods to their left and they all raised their guns, "Not one step closer, asshole!" Glenn called out.

The trees parted to reveal a couple of rotters. Abraham and Rosita put their guns down before swiftly taking the rotters out with their knives.

The next step was to search the RV, and to find Aaron's partner. He claimed there was only one other person out here, and if he was telling the truth about the location of their vehicles, why would he lie about the other things?

The RV was empty, but there was plenty of canned goods in there for the group. The seven of them cleared the fallen trees before driving back towards the barn,

Glenn drove the RV, and Marcie stared at him with a small smile on her face, "What?" The Korean asked, glancing over at her for a moment,

"Nothing. I was just thinking you need a fishing hat." She joked.

He stared out at the road for a moment before sighing, "Dale would be disappointed in me. In what I've done."

Marcie shook her head, "No, I think he'd be proud of you. The way you've stepped up, protected the people you love without loosing who you are." She turned to stare out the window at the Virginia wilderness, "It's me he'd be disappointed in. The things I've done, he would've hated it. Given me that look he had."

Glenn let out a small huff of laughter, "You haven't lost yourself." He told the girl next to him, "You've just... changed. We all have."

They parked the cars by the entrance of the barn and gathered the canned goods. Vivian entered the barn with a smile on her face. The seven of them emptied their arms and she was quick to open a can of peaches and gave them to Liam to eat,

"This, this is ours now." Rick told Aaron, holding a can in his hands,

Aaron nodded in acceptance, "There's more than enough."

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl questioned his father,

He was right, why wouldn't they go? They clearly have food, and walls. Aaron wasn't lying to them, even if they didn't find his partner.

"If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us... but he isn't, and he doesn't." Vivian stated, moving from her spot next to Liam to speak to the group before holding eye contact with Rick, "We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently."

"I don't know, man." Daryl grumbled, "This barn smells like horse shit."

Rick nodded, his eyes not leaving Vivian's, "Yeah. We're going."

She gave him a thankful nod before going back over to Liam, who was devouring the can of fruit. She brushed his blonde hair back, grateful he was getting some energy back.

"So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Rick questioned Aaron as he turned back to the restrained man,

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back." He explained, "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."

Michonne approached him, "You're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."

Rick laid a map down on the ground, ready for Aaron to tell him the route.

"Go north on Route 16." He sighed in defeat,

"And then?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

Vivian understood Aaron's frustration. Back at the prison, they were always wary of the people they brought back.

"We'll take 23 North. You'll give us directions from there." Rick declared,

"That's... I don't know how else to say it... That's a bad idea." Aaron tried to explain, "We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23. We leave at sundown."

"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked,

"Look, I know it's dangerous-"

"No shit." Vivian crossed her arms, "I'm not risking taking my child through an unclear route in the middle of the night. Anything could happen out there and if Aaron says Route 16 is the best bet, I'd rather take his advice. He knows the area and we don't."

"We don't know these people-"

"We know he's not lying. He told the truth about the RV, he brought food and water, and I'm assuming those photos are real. Why wouldn't we trust him on this?" Vivian asked,

"I don't trust him." Rick replied,

"I do."

"You don't know him." He argued with her, "It's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you." Aaron interrupted the argument, "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."

"Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now." Rick offered, but he stayed silent.

He had his own people to protect, too.

Rick turned back to the others, "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can." He walked outside and Marcie quickly followed after him,

She found him searching the cars and he quickly paused when he noticed her, "I'm thinking you, me, Michonne, and Glenn drive with that guy. Carl, Liam and Judith are safer in there." He pointed at the RV before glancing up at her, "You okay?"

"When you said that we were going, was that for real? Or are you just trying to get this guy to tell you where his camp is?" Marcie questioned him,

Rick stood and faced her, "We're going."

"Whatever it takes to get there. Just as long as we get there."

"When I first came up on the walls outside Woodbury... I didn't hear anything. It was the same thing with Terminus. It was a calm before a storm. And now, sometime tonight, we'll be outside his camp's walls. And without seeing inside, I'm gonna have to decide whether to bring my family in. He asked me before what it would take for me to believe it was real. Truth is... I'm not sure if anything could convince me to go in there. But I'm gonna see." He reassured her, "I'm gonna see."

"Vivian and Michonne are right, you know. We do need this." Marcie told him, "Those kids need it." She stared down at her boots, "I think Daryl needs it."

"Are you two okay?"

Marcie nodded, moving her gaze to the woods surrounding the barn, "He blames himself for Beth, I blame myself. And we're trying to convince each other that it's not our fault. He's pulling away and every time he goes out there... I think he might not come back."

"He loves you too much to do that." Rick assured her,

Marcie sighed. There was that word again, love. She was beginning to think that that word made you weak in this world.

That night, they packed up all their things before getting into the RV. Marcie, Michonne, Glenn and Rick got into the sedan with Aaron squished in the middle back seat between Michonne and Glenn.

Marcie opened the glove apartment out of curiosity and spotted a bunch of license plates. She pulled them out and went through them, noticing that they were from different stated,

"Um, I'm trying to collect all 50 states." Aaron explained, "Put them all on a wall in my house."

Marcie smiled at the nerdiness as Michonne asked, "You have your own house?"

"Mm." The man nodded, "See for yourself."

She flipped through the photos before asking, "Why don't you have any pictures of your people?"

"Oh, I took a picture of the whole group, but I didn't get the exposure right." He told her, "When I tried to develop it later, it just..."

Michonne turned to Rick, "Did you ask him the questions?"

"No."

"How many walkers have you killed?" Michonne began interrogating Aaron,

"I'm sorry, what?"

"How many?"

"I don't know. A lot." He answered, and they all listened closely,

"How many people?"

"Two."

"Why?"

"Because they tried to kill me." Aaron responded.

Marcie spotted something in the car door and pulled out a weird device, a set of headphones connected to a dish, "You were listening to us?" Marcie questioned as she showed Rick,

"I already said I was watching you. Yes, I was listening."

"It means his people could have one, too. They could've heard our plan. This isn't safe." Rick declared, glancing back towards Michonne and Glenn,

"Rick!" Marcie exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Shit!"

He hit a walker dead on, and Marcie's heart rate spiked. After the van incident in Atlanta and the other time when her and Daryl and the others were going to get the medicine for the sick at the prison, Marcie really didn't want to be in this position again, getting trapped in a vehicle surrounded by walkers.

Blood filled the windshield and they couldn't see the road ahead.

But Rick kept going so the RV wouldn't rear end them, and blood began to cover the whole car. He eventually hit the breaks, swerving the car before coming to a stop and getting out to search for the RV,

"I don't see them."

Everyone else got out and Glenn climbed on top of the car, "No, they're gone. They got away."

"All right, we'll circle back and find them." Rick began to wipe down the windshield so he could see where he was going, "Let's go."

"They're okay?" Aaron asked when they got back into the car,

"Yeah."

Marcie grabbed the map and began searching for a different route, "All right, we can take a left a couple of miles up 23. Jefferson Avenue."

Rick tried turning the engine over to no luck, and Marcie's anxiety began to spike even further.

"We got to get out of here." Aaron stated as they spotted the walkers getting closer.

Glenn got out to inspect the car and Marcie followed, her gun at the ready incase the rotters got too close.

But she got distracted by a flare firing up into the night sky.

"Did you see that?" Glenn asked as the back door popped open and Aaron ran out, his hands still bound together.

Michonne began running after him and everyone got out of the car, "Michonne, leave him! We need to find our people." Rick ordered,

"They saw that flare. They'll think we shot it. This is how we find them." She explained before following after the man.

The four of them ran through the woods, the full moon lighting up the trees, and got surrounded by a large herd. Marcie and Glenn got separated, following a game trail while Marcie covered their backs and Glenn led them to cover.

"Where'd the others go?!" Marcie yelled as she fired the shot,

"I don't know!"

They heard a cry and turned to see Aaron pinned up against a tree, a walker trying to get to him as he kept kicking it away.

Marcie and Glenn shared a look before she grabbed her knife and stabbed the rotter. She then cleaned the blade on her jeans quickly before cutting Aaron's restraints.

Gunshots filled the air and they knew they weren't too far from Rick and Michonne,

"Run if you want." Glenn told the man as they began heading towards the source of the noise, "We've got other things to worry about."

"We can make it together." Aaron stated, causing Marcie to pause, "But we can only make it together. You said that. I was listening."

He was right.

Marcie held her blade out towards him and nodded, "Together."

Aaron took the knife and the three of them ran through the darkness, searching for Rick and Michonne. They heard them calling their names, and knew they were getting closer,

A bright light shined through the trees only yards away. The light made it easier for them to aim and take down the rotters that were approaching Rick and Michonne.

The two of them stared as Aaron held his hand up in surrender, "If you really want to tie me up again, that's fine, but hurry up."

"No time. We're going that way."

The five of them ran through the woods until they reached asphalt. Marcie almost laughed as she spotted the Route 16 sign,

"Where are they?" Rick demanded, turning to Aaron,

"I don't know."

"If this is a trap to get us back where you want us, your people are going to die tonight." He threatened before he began to walk down the road, "The flare was towards the water tower."

They walked for a few miles in the pitch black, barely any rotters crossing their paths. They should've taken Route 16 to begin with, but it was too late now.

The five of them made it to a small town and Rick let out small whistles, calling out to their group. Another whistle came out from a dark alleyway and they spotted a shadow waving to them.

A door opened, letting some light out as the rest of their group ran into the alleyway. Daryl went over to Marcie and the girl embraced him tightly,

"You okay?" Daryl asked quietly,

"Mhmm." She squeezed his biceps as she pulled away, "Everything okay here?"

He nodded before letting go and she went to the others. Aaron began calling out for a man, Eric, who responded from inside the building.

Vivian was sat in the room, propping Eric's injured ankle while Judith and Liam sat nearby. Aaron ran in and stared at his partner,

"I'm fine." Eric insisted, "It's like a volleyball injury."

"It's a broken ankle." Vivian corrected, seeing this injury before on her younger brother many years ago,

"I like this one." Eric smiled, patting Vivian's shoulder.

Aaron stared down at Eric's injury with a horrified look. Eric tried to reassure him as Aaron sat down, taking Vivian's place. The woman stood and grabbed Judith, setting her on her hip before grabbing Liam's hand and leading them out of the room to give the couple some privacy.

Rick stepped in, his eyes running over Vivian's form before staring at the children.

"Glad to see you made it out." She commented with a small smile on her face,

He walked up to her, brushing some of her hair behind her ear before kissing her softly. It was different than the kiss at the cabin, that one was desperate, harsh, full of yearning. This was one gentle and full of care. His beard scratched her face and Vivian knew there would be red marks around her mouth later.

"We're okay." Vivian whispered against his lips. Rick pulled away and glanced towards the room behind her, "Give them a moment." She told him before going to meet up with the others.

Aaron wasn't far behind, leaving Rick and Eric to speak. He grabbed everyone's attention before thanking them, "You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine." Rick stated, leaning in the doorway behind Aaron, "But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." He pointed to the far corner of the room,

"You really think we got to do that?" Maggie asked him,

"It's the safe play." Their leader responded before glancing at Aaron, "We don't know you."

"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." Aaron stated.

Glenn stepped between the two, separating them before speaking to Rick and a quiet voice, "Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only travelling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle." He reasoned, "I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter."

Rick stared at him for a moment before nodding, "All right."